The U.S. government announced sanctions Tuesday against casinos, companies, and individuals allegedly linked to the Northeast Cartel (CDN), an organization operating in northern Mexico, citing activities such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and migrant smuggling in border areas like Tamaulipas.
According to the Treasury Department, one of the main establishments targeted is the Centenario Casino, located in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, just 3.2 kilometers from the U.S. border.
The statement indicates that this casino is operated by Comercializadora y Arrendadora de México (CAMSA) and was allegedly used by the CDN as a safe house to store fentanyl pills and cocaine, as well as serving as a vehicle for laundering illicit profits through gambling activities.
Another establishment included in the sanctions is the Diamante Casino, located in the city of Tampico, also in Tamaulipas.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also added Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, alias “Crosty,” to its sanctions list. He is identified as a cartel operative responsible for smuggling undocumented immigrants across the Rio Grande into Texas.
Attorney Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez was also sanctioned for his alleged ties to the CDN cartel, having served as a defense attorney for members of the criminal group, including Miguel Ángel Treviño Morales, known as “Z-40.”
According to OFAC, his work “goes beyond a normal attorney-client relationship.”
Jesús Reymundo Ramos Vázquez, identified as an associate of the cartel, also appears on the list. The U.S. Treasury Department accused him of operating under the guise of a human rights activist to defend CDN members, promote complaints against the Mexican Army, and support protests.
The announced measures mean that all assets and interests of the sanctioned individuals that are under U.S. jurisdiction or in the control of U.S. citizens are blocked.
The U.S. government reiterated that the Northeast Cartel was designated a “terrorist organization” in February of last year.
Furthermore, the State Department warned that the CDN’s violence, including the March 2022 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, poses a direct threat to U.S. personnel, affects Mexican sovereignty, and destabilizes communities on both sides of the border.
Source: unotv
